Bob Dylan pays tribute to Garth Hudson: “The driving force behind The Band”
After the tragic passing of The Band keyboardist Garth Hudson, Bob Dylan has penned a touching tribute to his friend and former bandmate.
Hudson had served as Dylan’s backing musician before The Band became its own independent outfit. Dylan would also contribute to his former backing group’s first album, Music From Big Pink, and collaborate with the group on projects such as The Basement Tapes.
News of the keyboardist’s tragic passing came on January 21st, with a statement saying that he passed away in his sleep while receiving care in a nursing home in Woodstock. While Hudson remained a firm part of The Band up until their final show, The Last Waltz, and also participated in their reunions. He didn’t begin a solo career until the 2000s when he put out his first proper solo record, The Sea to The North.
In a post on X, Dylan praised Hudson for being an instrumental force behind the iconic folk-rock band, saying, “Sorry to hear the news about Garth Hudson. He was a beautiful guy and the real driving force behind The Band. Just listen to the original recording of ‘The Weight’ and you’ll see.”
While Dylan had begun working with Hudson and the rest of The Band in 1966 during his electric period, they would eventually work on their debut album in 1968, featuring the aforementioned song ‘The Weight’. Aside from his piano and organ playing, Hudson was also known as a multi-instrumentalist, playing various saxophone lines as well as accordion during his time in the spotlight.
Since the group’s breakup in the late 1970s, Hudson has been known for working with fellow rock legends for session work and various live gigs. When putting together his own version of The Wall in Berlin, Roger Waters began working with Hudson to help fill out the sound for songs such as ‘Mother’, where he was accompanied by fellow Band members Levon Helm and Rick Danko.
In the last two decades, Hudson had not been played much outside of various one-off performances. He eventually played his first major gig in five years in 2023, where he performed a version of Duke Ellington’s ‘Sophisticated Lady’ at musician Sarah Perrotta’s house party for her Flower Hill House concert series. Hudson was 87 at the time of his passing.
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